From Tennessee-

According to research from the university, the men who founded Sewanee: The University of the South for the Episcopal Church in 1857 did so to maintain slave-holding society.

Practically every church in the South that was erected before the Civil War has symbols of the Confederacy or complicated histories with race, said the Rev. Claire Brown, associate rector at St. Paul's Episcopal Church. During the war, many churches supported the Confederacy and believed God was on their side.

In Brown's own church — the congregation of which was established in 1852 — there still hang portraits of Episcopal bishops who were slave owners, she said.

"Race as a social category was created to justify that exploitation and it was within the same breath that people were saying that it was God-ordained that some groups of people would be inferior to others," she said. "And it got twisted pretty much immediately to be unto the glory of God."

More here-

https://www.timesfreepress.com/news/local/story/2020/jun/21/chattanoogpastors-grapple-history-church-raci/525838/

Why they called Cleveland ‘Station Hope’

From Ohio-

In Cleveland, it wasn’t just homes that served as stops or stations. Saint John Episcopal Church on Church Street served as a beacon of hope and a stop on the underground railroad.

“When I walked into this church for the first time you can feel, as we were talking, you can feel something very special here,” says Raymond Bobgan of the Cleveland Public Theater.

Each year, the Theater puts on Station Hope at the church. ”At Station Hope, hundreds of artists perform simultaneously in this sanctuary, in the parish hall, outside, everyone is performing together,” says Bobgan. “Thousands of people come here for this one day, to not just celebrate the incredible bravery of the freedom seekers, but to look at where we are at today, but the journey we still have to go. That journey toward the North Star.”

During the time of the Underground Railroad, Station Hope meant the slaves were so close to freedom. 

More here-

https://www.news5cleveland.com/news/black-history-month/why-they-called-cleveland-station-hope

Texas Episcopalians Will Pay $13 Million in Racial Reparations

From Texas-

The Texas Episcopal Diocese says it will pay $13 million in reparations to descendants of slaves, one of several institutions that confess they once benefited from human bondage.

The Texas Diocese is based in Houston, one of the most diverse metros in the country. But the denomination is among the least racially diverse religious groups in the US. Slaves in 1839 built its first house of worship, Christ Episcopal Church in Matagorda, Texas.

The regional diocese, with $1.8 billion in assets, said it wants to atone for its past by channeling some of that money to various organizations supporting African Americans.

“It was an opportunity to do something positive in leadership, to show ways in which other funds can make a difference in an area where we find a lot of conflict—and where people want to see health and vitality around the race conversation,” said Andrew Doyle, bishop of the Texas Diocese, who is also chair for the diocese’ five foundations that oversee their investments. 

More here-

https://www.ai-cio.com/news/texas-episcopalians-will-pay-13-million-racial-reparations/

Reparations and Religion: 50 years after ‘Black Manifesto’

From The Black Wall St. Times-

In recent months, Virginia Theological Seminary, Princeton Theological Seminary and Georgetown University have all announced plans to fund initiatives that would benefit the descendants of slaves, while Episcopal dioceses in New York and Long Island made million- and half-million-dollar commitments as reparations committees continued their work.

In May, the Episcopal Diocese of Maryland voted to study reparations and urge congregations to “examine how their endowed wealth is tied to the institution of slavery.

”Maryland’s African American bishop, Eugene Taylor Sutton, said tears came to his eyes when the measure passed at the diocese’s general convention with no dissenting votes, and he realized that the assembled delegates, representing a membership that is 90% white, “got it.”

More here-

https://theblackwallsttimes.com/2020/01/02/reparations-and-religion-50-years-after-black-manifesto/

Slaves felt kinship with the shepherds, the first to hear the news of Christ’s birth

From Dallas-

The Christmas spirituals of the enslaved people of the American South are among their greatest creations. The unknown poets powerfully identified with the refugees and castaways of the Christmas narratives. They recognized their own plight in the journey of the Holy Family; they understood what it was like to be hated, scorned and mocked. Like them, Mary, Joseph and Jesus were powerless, hunted and hounded by the absolute rulers of the land, forced to hide in tents and stables and caves.

And the slaves felt a deep kinship with the shepherds, the lowest of the low in society, the untouchables, consigned to society’s distant edges. Both spent much of their lives outside, under the stars, keenly aware of the great cosmic mandala of light that swept across the horizon against the endless black skies during the never-ending nights.

That’s why “Rise Up Shepherds and Follow” is still so evocative today.

More here-

https://www.dallasnews.com/opinion/commentary/2019/12/24/slaves-felt-kinship-with-the-shepherds-the-first-to-hear-the-news-of-christs-birth/

Emmanuel Episcopal holds Underground Railroad program

Maryland-

The spire of Emmanuel Episcopal Church is a beloved landmark at the top of the hill that overlooks Cumberland downtown.

According to local oral history, Emmanuel was an important landmark for African Americans escaping slavery.

The tunnels under the church were a station on the Underground Railroad and provided refuge for those on their way to Pennsylvania.

Emmanuel held a celebration of the Underground Railroad in the local area as well as a commemoration of the anniversary of Emancipation Day on Nov. 1. Maryland was one of the earliest states to abolish slavery — a full year ahead of the 13th Amendment.

More here-

https://www.times-news.com/community/emmanuel-episcopal-holds-underground-railroad-program/article_8c85f22f-1d97-5bfa-9faa-439828ded174.html

Episcopal Diocese of Maryland presents dialogue on reparations

From Maryland-

The Episcopal Diocese of Maryland Truth and Reconciliation Commission hosted the “2019 Trail of Souls Dialogue on Reparations” on Saturday, Nov. 2 at the Saint Michael and All Angels Episcopal Church. 

Featured speakers included: Morgan State University School of Community Health and Policy Associate Professor Lawrence Brown; President of the D.C. chapter of the Union of Black Episcopalians Rev. Gayle Fischer-Stewart; and Messiah College Assistant Professor of Theology Rev. Drew Hart.

Episcopal Bishop of Maryland Eugene Taylor Sutton and Maryland Institute College of Art Professor of Spoken Word Kenneth Morrison also spoke at the event.

Sutton opened the discussion on reparations by arguing for the need to reframe slavery as a form of thievery that continued long after the Fourteenth Amendment was passed. 
He contended that reconciliation will never occur unless large-scale restitution to black individuals occurs first. 

More here-

https://www.jhunewsletter.com/article/2019/11/episcopal-diocese-of-maryland-presents-dialogue-on-reparations

In Year of Apology for its Role in Slavery, New York Episcopal Diocese to Revive Rejected Anti-Slavery Motion from 1860

From New York-

In September 1860, John Jay II—grandson of the founding father and first US supreme court chief justice—introduced four resolutions condemning slavery and the slave trade (see link below) at the Episcopal Diocese of New York's annual convention in New York City. 

Although the slave trade had been illegal in the state of New York since 1799 and the last enslaved persons had been freed in 1827, Jay's resolutions—so uncontroversial today—did not pass.

Instead, they were tabled, in the face of insuperable opposition from an overwhelming majority of the assembled Episcopalian clergy and laity, many of whom continued to have an interest in the slave trade, which in 1860 continued unabated in the port of New York in spite of its illegality and violation of the "teachings of the Church …and the laws of God."  

More here-

https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/in-year-of-apology-for-its-role-in-slavery-new-york-episcopal-diocese-to-revive-rejected-anti-slavery-motion-from-1860-300950007.html

With plans to pay slavery reparations, two seminaries prompt broader debate

From Seattle-

Among elite U.S. universities, Harvard, Yale, Brown, and Georgetown have all admitted in recent years that at one time they benefited financially from the slave trade. 

But two Protestant seminaries have now gone a step further, saying that in recognition of their own connections to racism they have a Christian duty to pay reparations.

Virginia Theological Seminary in Alexandria, Va., the flagship institution of the U.S. Episcopal Church, announced in September that it has set aside $1.7 million for a reparations fund, given that enslaved persons once worked on its campus and that the school participated in racial segregation even after slavery ended.

Earlier this month, Princeton Theological Seminary in Princeton, N.J., followed suit with an announcement of a $27 million endowed fund for reparations, from which $1.1 million would be dispersed annually.

More here-

https://www.kuow.org/stories/with-plans-to-pay-slavery-reparations-two-seminaries-prompt-a-broader-debate

Old North Church, a cherished symbol, opens up about its link to slavery

From Boston-

The slender white steeple of Old North Church is a cherished symbol of American freedom, the place where two signal lanterns dispatched Paul Revere on his famous 1775 ride to warn the colonists of approaching British troops.

But it’s also a symbol of something else — an American reckoning.

New research shows that Boston slave traders who attended Old North helped build that iconic steeple, and that those parishioners were deeply entwined in a slave-smuggling ring that shipped captive Africans from the British West Indies to notorious Dutch plantations in South America.

Startled by this discovery, the vicar at Old North plans to revamp the tours there, change interpretive signs, and ensure that the 150,000 yearly visitors to this Episcopal church have an opportunity to learn about these newly unearthed connections to Colonial slavery.

More here-

 https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2019/10/26/old-north-church-cherished-symbol-opens-about-link-slavery/tOKwIqLkBgeujRLyWELPfJ/story.html

Virginia Seminary President On Reparations Fund: 'Apology Is Insufficient'

From Virginia Public Radio-

We're going to turn now to the ongoing debate around reparations. In recent years, a number of universities have tried to confront how slavery shaped their institutions. Now Virginia Theological Seminary is doing the same. The seminary, which is just outside Washington, D.C., announced a plan to create a $1.7 million fund for the descendants of the slaves that helped build the school. We wanted to learn more about that plan and what it went into the decision, so we've called on Ian Markham. He's an Episcopal priest and the dean and president of Virginia Theological Seminary. Thank you for joining us.

IAN MARKHAM: I'm delighted to be here.

MCCAMMON: So what led to the creation of this reparations fund?

MARKHAM: So we're on the cusp of our 200th birthday. And as you do the work of thinking about that milestone, you find yourself reflecting on 200 years. And we're very conscious that the story is one full of both grace and sin. And we need to recognize that sin is part of that story. And a huge part of that story are enslaved persons who built many of the key buildings on the campus. And almost all the faculty for decades had enslaved persons working for them. So we felt it was important that you can't mark an anniversary of such significance without really thinking through how we're going to relate to that complex part of our history.

More here-

https://www.kvpr.org/post/virginia-seminary-president-reparations-fund-apology-insufficient

In slavery, her family was owned by his. Now they attend a Baltimore church seeking to atone for its past.

From Baltimore-

The Rev. Natalie Conway’s tenure as the new deacon of Memorial Episcopal Church in Baltimore’s Bolton Hill was by all accounts going well last year when she received news that sparked a personal crisis and sent shock waves through the congregation.

One of Conway’s siblings, who was conducting genealogical research on their family, told her that some of their forebears had been slaves on a local plantation — and the people and the land were owned by none other than the extended family of Memorial’s founding pastor, 19th-century cleric Charles Ridgely Howard.

If that weren’t disorienting enough, a current parishioner at Memorial — a man Conway had known for years and respected — was a descendant of the slaveholding clan.

The cascade of revelations at first overwhelmed the lifelong Episcopalian and native of Baltimore.

More here-

 https://www.baltimoresun.com/maryland/baltimore-city/bs-md-ci-church-slavery-atonement-20190912-3tllerewzzh7nnqsa5entffssy-story.html

Episcopal Seminary in Virginia Starts Slavery Reparations Fund

From NPR (with audio)-

What kind of reparations could begin to make amends for slavery?

In Alexandria, a new $2 million effort is underway.

As the Virginia Theological Seminary reaches its milestone 200th anniversary, Dean Ian Markham says there’s a growing awareness on campus of that the story of the Episcopal seminary is a mix of grace and sin. 

“And part of that sin is the history of racism, which includes the use of enslaved persons on this campus and our participation in segregation and Jim Crow," Markham admits. "The purpose of the reparations fund is literally to repair some of that damage.”

More here-

 https://www.wvtf.org/post/episcopal-seminary-virginia-starts-slavery-reparations-fund#stream/0

also here-

https://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2019/09/12/17-million-endowment-fund-slavery-reparations

The Roberson Project seeks to reconcile with Sewanee’s slave-holding history

From Sewanee-

The Roberson Project on Slavery, Race, and Reconciliation, formerly known as the Sewanee Project on Slavery, Race, and Reconciliation, entered its third year on July 1. The name change honors Sewanee’s first tenured African-American professor, Houston Roberson, who passed away in December 2016. Dr. Roberson was also responsible for focusing on African-American studies to Sewanee’s curriculum when he joined the faculty in 1997.

“He was a very close friend, so when he died, it was a very personal as well as professional loss,” Dr. Woody Register (C’80), director of the Roberson Project and Professor of American history says.

The name change also seeks to memorialize Dr. Roberson’s legacy. “Now I get to say Dr. Roberson’s name all the time. Most memorials are stone or bronze things that don’t speak, and people come to ignore them,” Dr. Register says.

This project began with a group of other universities seeking to understand how slavery contributed to their institutions. 

More here-

https://thesewaneepurple.org/2019/09/10/the-roberson-project-seeks-to-reconcile-with-sewanees-slave-holding-history/

Slaves helped build Virginia Theological Seminary. The school will spend $1.7 million in reparations.

From The Washington Post-

From their offices in a building erected by slaves, leaders of the Virginia Theological Seminary announced early this month they have created a $1.7 million fund for reparations, putting one of the oldest Episcopalian schools at the forefront of a movement among universities and other groups seeking to reconcile slavery’s enduring legacy in their organizations.

The endowment fund offers a model at a time when lawmakers and presidential candidates are studying how reparations may work nationally. At Virginia Theological Seminary — a school that did not admit black students until 1951 — the plan involves more than just writing a check.

The pot of money will be used to address “particular needs” of descendants of slaves who worked at the seminary, to create programs that “promote justice and inclusion” and to elevate the work and voices of African American alumni and clergy within the Episcopal Church, especially at historically black congregations.

More here-

https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2019/09/10/virginia-theological-seminary-reparations-slavery/?noredirect=on

Bell-ringing ceremony to mark anniversary of first slaves landing in U.S.

From South Carolina-

The Most Rev. Michael Curry, presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church, invited all Episcopal churches to participate in what is being called a day of healing.

Each Church will ring their bells one minute for each of the four centuries that have passed since slavery began on wh
at is now American soil.

Many Episcopal churches were active in the civil rights movement, which is commemorated in a stained glass at St. Athanasius Episcopal Church on Albany Street in Brunswick. The stained glass memorializes martyrs of the movement.

St. Athanasius will hold its own bell-ringing observance.

Terry E. Brown, superintendent of Fort Monroe, stressed that Sunday’s event will be somber.

More here-

https://thebrunswicknews.com/news/local_news/bell-ringing-ceremony-to-mark-anniversary-of-first-slaves-landing/article_631d50c3-3d76-5c2d-9c07-ed259708a97d.html

Bishops Invite Faith Community to Toll Bells

From Afro-

Presiding Bishop Michael Curry of the Episcopal Church and Bishop W. Darin Moore of the AME Zion Church are among clergy leaders across the country inviting their memebr to engage in a national action in rememberance and honor the first enslaved Africans in America. The petition is for churches to toll their bells at 3 p.m., for one minute on Sunday, Aug. 25.

As the landing point for the first enslaved Africans in the English colonies in 1619 and the site of the first emancipation policy decision during the Civil War, Fort Monroe marks both the beginning and the end of slavery in the United States.

“I’m inviting us as The Episcopal Church to join in this commemoration as part of our continued work of racial healing and reconciliation,” said Curry. “We can join together with people of other Christian faiths and people of all faiths to remember those who came as enslaved, who came to a country that one day would proclaim liberty. And so we remember them and pray for a new future for us all.”

More here-

https://www.afro.com/bishop-invites-faith-community-to-toll-bells/

 

Episcopal bishop calls for bell-tolling to remember 1619 slave-trade incident

From Atlanta-

The Episcopal Diocese of Atlanta, based at Buckhead’s Cathedral of St. Philip, is calling on its churches and schools to toll bells on Aug. 25 in remembrance of the first enslaved African people forced to come to English North America 400 years ago this month.

That 1619 event in what was then the Colony of Virginia was recently highlighted by the New York Times Magazine in “The 1619 Project,” a package of stories about the legacy of slavery in American history.

Rev. Robert C. Wright, the bishop of the diocese, said in a press release that the bell-tolling, scheduled for 3 p.m., is intended to be part of a national commemoration involving other Christian denominations and other religions.

“At 3 p.m., we can join with people of all faiths to remember those who came enslaved, those who came to a country that one day would proclaim liberty,” Wright said in the press release.

More here-

https://www.reporternewspapers.net/2019/08/21/episcopal-bishop-calls-for-bell-tolling-to-remember-1619-slave-trade-incident/

How UK Anglicans and Catholics are teaming up to fight modern slavery

 From Crux- 

Anglican and Catholic leaders in the UK are teaming up to fight modern-day slavery through a free app that helps identify forced labor at hand car washes.“Over the last few years we have learned more about the evil of modern slavery and we have begun to understand how it is perpetrated in our communities in plain sight,” said Anglican Archbishop Justin Welby of Canterbury, according to the Guardian.

The app, Safe Car Wash, was launched on June 4 by two faith-based anti-slavery groups: The Church of England’s Clewer Initiative and the Catholic Church’s Santa Marta Group. To promote the application, clergy have been encouraged to speak about the app during sermons, school functions, and other public events.

More here-

https://cruxnow.com/church-in-uk-and-ireland/2018/06/06/how-uk-anglicans-and-catholics-are-teaming-up-to-fight-modern-slavery/

Anglican and Catholic churches condemn 'car wash slavery'

From The Guardian-

The Anglican and Catholic churches in England have joined forces to urge people to watch out for signs of modern day slavery at car washes and report their suspicions to the authorities.

An app to help members of the public identify signs of forced labour is being launched on Monday by the Clewer Initiative, the Church of England’s campaign against modern slavery, and the Santa Marta Group, the Catholic church’s anti-slavery project.

The Safe Car Wash app has the backing of key agencies, including the police and councils, and is part of a drive to tackle the exploitation of workers at some of Britain’s 18,000-plus hand car washes. Many are legitimate businesses, but some threaten workers and trap them in modern slavery.

 More here-

 https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2018/jun/03/anglican-catholic-churches-condemn-carwash-slavery-england